Thursday, 14 February 2013

LETTER FROM A YOUNG IRISH CITIZEN TO PRESIDENT MICHAEL D HIGGINS

Here is a letter from a young Irish citizen to our
President, Michael D Higgins, imploring him not to sign into law the IRBC
emergency Bill as presented to him in the early hours of Thursday, February 7th
2013. It is one of a number of letters from those who have marched with the Ballyhea
Says No protest over the past 103 weeks to our various politicians asking them
to vote against the continuing bailout of banks at the expense of the people.

I hope this finds you well.
I am writing this email to you imploring you not to sign the IBRC Resolution
Corporation Bill 2013 into law. In a week when another of Ireland's awful
ghosts has been revealed in the form of the Magdalene laundries, I am genuinely
asking you to consider the People of Ireland; to put them first above
bondholders, above party politics, above the recklessness of the financial
markets and to ensure our next generations are not asking how this came to be
as we are asking likewise of the McAleese report.

Tonight, I felt sick to the pit of my stomach when the news started to break
about this emergency legislation and what it would entail. The last time I felt
that disillusionment and anger was when both Brian Lenihan and Brian Cowen
continually lied to us regarding the IMF/EU bailout rumours. On the back of
this bewilderment, I drove from Meath into Kildare St where I met with a
handful of others: all stunned as to how this could be happening again. How
this scene of hurriedly passing legislation has been allowed to repeat itself.
Nobody has had a chance to fully digest this legislation and all it entails. I
then drove through the park and looked in at the candle in the window and I
made a wish. Silly? Possibly. Desperate? Without doubt!

The underlying debt of Anglo and Irish Nationwide is not the Irish People's to
repay. It is an odious debt, foisted upon us by people we have never met,
people who will never answer to us or our children at the voting polls. You,
President Higgins, of all people will know that this is not democracy. It is
not what our forefathers envisioned for their people when they fought to secure
their country for future generations. You have a real chance to change our
direction, to change the fate of not only this current generation of Irish but
future generations also. We may well hope this enormous debt will fade away
with inflation over the years but the underlying principle is clear cut. It is
wrong what Europe and, in particular, what the ECB has made the Irish nation
take on. I believe it speaks volumes as to where their loyalties lie as an
organisation of minds and policies. People are not the priority here. If we
were, capitalism would have been allowed to play out as it was meant to.
Private banks would have closed, market players would have taken their losses
and the Irish people would have retained some chance of a fair future.

Instead, cuts are getting deeper, the cost of living is increasing; small
businesses are closing up as rents remain stubbornly high amongst other costs
and the Irish people are being robbed of the opportunity to pay down their own
personal debts. So many people want to pay their mortgage but the option has been
taken from them. We didn't party. The Sean Fitzpatricks of this country did but
not those in middle Ireland. And those in Poor Ireland never got a look in. It
is all wrong President Higgins- from start to finish-from the bailout of 2008
to this frightening episode tonight. And everybody from Wall St to Sheriff St
knows it. Please stop it on behalf of the people. We will take the
consequences- they have to be better than a never ending spiral of debt. The
Government have lost their mandate. They made many promises they simply haven't
kept. The People are awakening to this. Please follow the lead taken by
Iceland. President Grímsson made many enemies when he stood up for the people
but they respected his strength and honesty so much they petitioned for him to
run for a fourth term in office. What a magical scenario. So it can be done,
has been done and really should be done. For the people who voted you to be the
guardian of our rights. You are our final hope.

I hope this letter or another or a thousand others somehow helps to convince
you to do the right thing. For the People of Ireland. It is not about short
term gains but long term achievements such as justice and fairness. This is all
we can ask for.

Wishing you the best of luck in your decision,

***** Farrelly (does not wish to have her full name revealed).

President Higgins signed the legislation; his office sent a standard
reply to Ms Farrelly.